My beliefs are bizarre, I'm told
A reader of this blog, in email correspondence, after about 20 back-and-forths, thinks my beliefs are "bizarre" when I say I'm entirely capable of making my own moral decisions without reference to a Book or authority outside myself.
Ouch. Guess I better get out from under my UU pillow and realize that to many, I'm religiously weird when I know within myself I shouldn't be murdering people without asking someone or something else first.
Church furniture et al
I saw a
press release with the headline
Heavenly Wood Announces The Addition Of Morgan Brand Church Furniture.
Got me wondering ... how many different kinds of business market, in whole or in part, to churches? There's Church Mutual Insurance. For churches that do communion, there are companies that bake hosts. There's Heavenly Wood that makes "altars, credence tables, chairs, pulpits and more.".
If you're starting a small business, this might be a good niche market. Hopefully churches pay in a timely manner.
Post: Conservative Black Pastors Fight Bill on Hate Crimes
The
Washington Post reports
A coalition of conservative African American pastors is lobbying Congress to vote against a bill that would extend federal hate-crimes laws to cover gays, saying they fear it would prevent them from preaching against homosexuality.
Several pastors last week urged House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), a sponsor of the bill, and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus to vote against the proposed Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
Wow. We wouldn't want to stop being able to preach against homosexuality, now would we??
But seriously, this isn't a trivial question; people are entitled to say that they believe homosexuality is a sin if that's what their religious belief system tells them. As always, it depends on what they say and how they say it.
I haven't read the bill, so I can't say whether or not conservative religious leaders might be breaking the law by preaching what they truly believe. They shouldn't be constrained within the confines of the pulpit, as much as religious liberals might disagree with their message.
NYT: Matters of Faith Find a New Prominence on Campus
An
article in the New York Times says
Across the country, on secular campuses as varied as Colgate University, the University of Wisconsin and the University of California, Berkeley, chaplains, professors and administrators say students are drawn to religion and spirituality with more fervor than at any time they can remember.
I wonder how much of a concerted effort Unitarian Universalists make (either the
Unitarian Universalist Association or individual congregations) make to let college students know that UUism is an option.
No matter how much it is, I'm thinking it's not nearly enough. Inquisitive college students should be a natural fit with Unitarian Universalists.
